USA Spends $450m Yearly In Health Aid To Nigeria – Mission Director

The United States of America (USA) through its various programmes,
spends about $450m yearly on health related aid to Nigeria, Mr Michael
Harvey disclosed Friday.

Michael, who is the
USAID/Nigeria mission director, gave the figure while responding to
questions at the Targeted States High Impact Project (TSHIP) end of
project information dissemination meeting in Sokoto.

According to him, the USA has great concern over health issues in Nigeria and in the northern Nigeria in particular.

Michael,
stressed that they are celebrating the lives saved, the healthier
households built and the durable bonds established between the states in
which they carried out interventions. He also stated that, USAID
through TSHIP has spent $89m in Sokoto and Bauchi states from 2009 to
2015.

He stressed that they were satisfied with how the people of Sokoto State
accepted their programmes, adding that, the former governor, Aliyu
Magatakarda Wamakko, had laid an exceptional foundation for the state to
move forward quickly in the health sector.

The mission director decried the shortage of staff, especially the
female folk, as one of the greatest challenges they experienced in
Sokoto State in the course of the six-year TSHIP programme. He called on
the government to expedite effort to bridge the gap.

On the lamentations by many, that ending TSHIP projects in Sokoto State
might cause pains because of its numerous gains, Mr Michael said, they
would continue to build on what they had done.

Speaking
on his part, Governor Aminu Tambuwal assured that they would continue
to partner with USAID and other donor agencies for their sustained role
in the nation’s health sector.

While disclosing that the state government would continue with the
funding of its community-based health volunteers, Tambuwal hinted that
they would soon develop a marshal plan for the training of 3,000
community midwives.

Earlier, in her goodwill, the wife of Kebbi
State governor, Dr Zainab Atiku Bagudu advised that, Nigeria should
collectively make women and children health needs very visible and
measurable so that it can be addressed.

“To archive this, all governments need to
seriously consider a health agenda that includes universal health
coverage. Scientists, physicians and researchers in the region have a
duty to improve on data collection.

It is only with credible data that
we can expect effective interventions and sustainable development to
come”.

Dr Zainab therefore called on USAID to extend some of its programmes to Kebbi State.